Hopefully, you’re spending these hot summer months soaking up some Vitamin-D (with your sunscreen on of course!) and enjoying a good amount of healthy outdoor activities such as hiking or mountain biking. However, as you find yourself out in nature instead of cooped up indoors, we can’t stress enough how important it is for you to be drinking water. Even if it causes a little extra hassle as you’re heading out the door, your body will thank you later – take some extra time to fill up that water bottle so you can have access to H2O throughout your entire day. Here’s what dehydration does to your body:

No More Temperature Control

When you’re not drinking enough water, it makes it even harder for your body to regulate its temperature. Think about it. When you sweat, you’re releasing heat, but if you aren’t drinking water, you have no water to sweat out. Therefore, your body can’t regulate its temperature. (9 Weird Things Dehydration does to Your Body) If it’s really hot out and you’re not getting enough water, you could end up suffering from a heatstroke. Heatstroke is a very serious heat injury that can damage your brain, heart, kidneys and muscles.

We all have electrolytes in our body. These electrolytes carry signals to the brain. If you’re dehydrated this can cause those electrolytes to get out of balance, meaning the messages being sent to your brain are out of whack. This can cause involuntary muscle spasms or even the loss of consciousness. (Diseasesand Conditions: Dehydration)

Symptoms of Dehydration

So how do you know if you’re just really thirsty or actually dehydrated? Here are a few indicators that you might be dehydrated:

Ideally, if your urine is clear that’s a good sign that you’re well-hydrated. If your urine is dark, you’ll want to drink water right away.

We do hope you’re making the most of your summer and spending a lot of time in the great outdoors, just make sure you always have enough water with you. Remember, the hotter the weather and the more active you are, the more water you should be drinking.